The lamp vo' the porgh ghaH the mIn. chugh vaj lIj mIn ghaH wab, lIj Hoch porgh DichDaq taH teblu'ta' vo' wov.
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. (Matthew 6:22)
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. (Matthew 6:22)
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The word here for eye is the Greek word "opthalmos" - a root word that ought to be familiar from eye-related medical words like ophthalmology or ophthalmologist. The Klingon word is the simple "mIn," But of course there is more here in Jesus words than the literal eye, I like the way the Message translation recasts this verse from Matthew's gospel:
Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light.
These words from Jesus give me pause, and make me ask what is it that opens my eyes in wonder? What is it that fills me with delight? Well, there are many things.
If you're like me, you perhaps collect pictures - you'd see that the walls of my workspace are littered with family photos and pictures from vacations - it is always great to see reminders of those I love, and good times.
Recently I've let my gaze turn further out, as I've been drinking in the sights across the solar system thanks to a program called WorldWind from NASA. It's a great program that collects the vast quantities of images from interplanetary explorations and lets you wander across Venus, Mars, Mercury, the Moon - even the Earth. Your computer becomes a virtual spaceship. And, since WorldWind actually taps into NASA databases online, it has a wealth of imagery. Short of a personal spacecraft, it is one of the best ways to play space traveling tourist.
More than just pretty pictures, this exploration fills me with awe and joy as I marvel at the rich creation God has spread out before us. This enjoyment is a wonderful gift, something that can and ought to make us cry out in thanks to our creator. In the same way the pictures of my loved ones, and treasured memories, reminds me of the ways God has blessed me.
For, we have a decision to make in how we respond to the world - if we are open to the joy God offers, we can be filled with light, and take hold of the inheritance he offers to all his children. Jesus continues though:
If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have! (Matt. 6:23 MSG).
What sort of life do you want? Filled with light, or a dank, dark cellar? We live in a world that presents us with a continuous barrage of bad news. This is, of course, no surprise - the Bible is clear that in a fallen world, there is much that needs to be set right - that is the message of Scriptures. Not just the bad news, but the power God has exerted to restore his creation.
The lamp vo' the porgh ghaH the mIn. chugh vaj lIj mIn ghaH wab, lIj Hoch porgh DichDaq taH teblu'ta' vo' wov.
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. (Matthew 6:22)
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. (Matthew 6:22)
Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light.
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